Our Top 5 Western Colorado Elopement Locations

Planning Your Colorado Elopement

You might be wondering: “Why is Colorado the best place to elope?” “What are the best Colorado elopement locations?” “How do I even begin planning my Colorado micro-wedding?”

We just want you to know that first of all, we’ve got you! We’re here to answer all of those questions, and help guide you to the best location for your dream Colorado elopement. Colorado is one of the best places for adventure elopements and intentional weddings for a number of reasons!

Top 5 Reasons Why You Should Elope In Colorado:

1. The diverse landscapes, from vast canyons to icey-blue alpine lakes
2. Epic mountains! You don’t need to travel to the Swiss Alps to experience incredible rocky, snow-capped mountain peaks 
3. Fall in Colorado is absolutely magical, specifically the colors of the aspen trees
4. Adventures are endless in Colorado, from hiking and off-roading in the summer to cross country skiing and snowboarding in the winter 
5. You can legally self solemnize here! (aka marry yourselves)

Before you decide whether or not Colorado is for you, we’re going to dive into a few of the legalities first. Keep scrolling to get all of the current 2024 rules and regulations for getting married in Colorado.

How To Legally Get Married In Colorado

Colorado is pretty awesome in that anyone can get married here! The state allows Non-U.S. Citizens to legally get married here, as well as same sex and proxy marriages.

Marriage License

In order to obtain your marriage license in the state of Colorado, you need to contact the appropriate county clerk’s office. We’ve included some links and things to note when planning your Colorado elopement!

Find Your Colorado County Clerk’s Office

Marriage and Civil Union Forms and Fees

Some things to note:

• Blood tests are not required in Colorado, and there is no waiting period for receiving your license. 
• Applicants do not need to be Colorado residents. However, couples obtaining a marriage license online must have a Colorado address in order to receive their application and license via mail.
• You may marry in front of a judge, through a religious ceremony, or by self-solemnizing (signing the certificate yourselves). 
• The certificate must be signed in Colorado within 35 days from the date the license was issued.
• The completed marriage certificate (and attached license) must be returned to the Clerk for recording within 63 days after solemnization. After that date, late fees may apply.

Self Solemnization

In Colorado, you are legally allowed to marry yourselves! How rad is that? Basically, you don’t need to have an officiant lead your ceremony, you and your partner can do it together! It gives people the option to legally get married in a more intimate setting. Just remember that you still need to obtain a Marriage License.

Officiant + Witnesses

Legally, you aren’t required to have an officiant or witnesses, since you can self solemnize in Colorado. But a lot of couples enjoy having a minister or an ordained family/friend to help facilitate. It’s nice to have someone guide the direction of your elopement ceremony.

But if you choose to hire an officiant, here are some of our recommendations:

• Wine Country Ceremonies
• Colorado Micro-Weddings
• Let There Bee Love

And for witnesses, you don’t legally need them, but if you’d like to, you can have two wedding guests, us, or your dog(s) be your witnesses!

Special Use Permits

Most National and State Parks require a Special Use Permit for any wedding or elopement ceremony, as well as some BLM Land, National Forests, etc. A Special Use Permit basically allows you to host a gathering or “reserve” an area for your wedding ceremony. We put reserve in quotations because some areas actually allow you to reserve a designated ceremony spot, while other locations give you permission to say vows, but don’t actually allow you to block off the spot for your ceremony. It really just depends on the location.

In Colorado, for example, Rocky Mountain National Park has designated ceremony locations, and a detailed list of rules/regulations for hosting a wedding within the park. A $300 non-refundable fee and a Special Use Permit is required. But other locations, such as the San Juan National Forest, only require a Special Use Permit for weddings with 75 people or more.

We always reach out to the respective permit official to inquire about what permits may be necessary when having an elopement or small wedding in Colorado!

When Is The Best Time of Year To Elope In Colorado?

We want to preface this with the fact that there really isn’t a bad time to elope in Colorado. It truly just comes down to the kind of experience that you want to have. The winter months are great for ski elopements and winter wonderland scenes. The summer months are awesome for hiking and trail accessibility. There isn’t a wrong choice!

Winter in Colorado

We wanted to start with winter because it’s the longest season in Colorado, starting in October and ending in April or early May. While it’s spring in most other states by April, Colorado gets a “second winter” during this time of year. Throughout the season, you can expect a lot of road closures and heavy snowfall. There are some epic ski resorts in Colorado that you should consider exploring, such as Steamboat, Vail, Breckenridge, and Telluride.

November is a good time to elope in the winter if you want snow-covered mountain peaks without having to hike through feet of snow! This is also a great time of year if you want quieter trails, since it’s after summer, but before the ski season starts.

January is great for sunrise to sunset elopements since daylight is usually between 7:30 am and 5:00 pm. It’s also a great month if you want heavy snow, but less wet conditions. January is very quiet in a lot of popular locations, such as Rocky Mountain National Park.

April is going to be the most unpredictable winter month! You could get a warm, sunny day for your elopement, or you could have a foot of fresh snow overnight.

Springtime

May is the only month of spring in Colorado! The snow is still present at higher elevations, and you can expect snow storms, but the snow should be completely melted at lower elevations. The grass is starting to turn green and things are blooming finally!

Avoid Memorial Day weekend at all cost!!

Summer

June is the start of summer and the “busy season” in Colorado. The weather isn’t super hot yet, but trails are open and the sun is out! Higher elevations are still snow-covered, so if you’re looking at a mountain elopement, we’d recommend July or August for snow-free travel on hiking trails.

July is the best season for warm, long summer days, and wildflowers! This is one of the busiest times of the year, so keep that in mind. Alpine lakes are full due to snowmelt, and trails are drier from the sun. The only thing to be careful of are the afternoon thunderstorms. We get them during the summer here in Montana, too. We recommend eloping in the mountains early (preferably sunrise), so you can hike down below the tree-line before an afternoon storm rolls in.

August and the beginning of September can be really hot! But if you’re eloping at a higher elevation location, such as Telluride, the temps are usually perfect. Expect 60s to mid-70s at higher elevations, and 80+ degrees at lower elevations, such as Denver.

Fall in Colorful Colorado

Our favorite season to elope in Colorado is the fall! The temps are nice throughout the day, but pack layers because it gets cold in the shade. But our favorite thing about the fall has to be the way everything turns vibrant shades of orange, red, and yellow! It’s absolutely STUNNING!

Best Day of The Week To Elope in Colorado

Like any other location, we always recommend avoiding any major holidays and trying to pick a weekday for your elopement. Weekends tend to be really busy on hiking trails, in town, and at popular overlooks. If you can plan your elopement for a weekday, you’ll have a greater chance of privacy, as well as more prime lodging options! Rentals on Airbnb and VRBO, and hotels, tend to book up on the weekends, especially during the prime skiing and summer months.

Venture to Elope’s Travel Schedule 2024

Last year, we spent the end of September and the beginning of October is western Colorado, and it was the most incredible time! We don’t have Colorado on our 2024 Travel Schedule, but we’d love to add it. Reach out to us, and we’ll see if we can fit in a Colorado trip this year!

Our Top 5 Western Colorado Elopement Locations

Okay, we have way more than just 5 general location recommendations for your Colorado elopement. However, these are some of our absolute favorite spots to explore! We tried to include a lot of good information about each location, as well as photos that we’ve taken. But with each general location that we’ve listed, we also have very specific spots at each that we like to take our couples to. If you’re looking for a photography and videography team that can guide you to your dream elopement location, we’ve got plenty of recommendations!

1. Loveland Pass

Loveland Pass is a high mountain pass located in the north-central part of Colorado. Now, we know this spot isn’t part of western Colorado, but it was too good not to add to this list! It’s located on the Continental Divide in the Front Range of the Rockies, west of the city of Denver. Loveland Pass is not only stunning, but it’s super accessible. It might be the highest mountain pass in Colorado, but it’s open regularly during the winter. When we first drove this pass, we couldn’t get over the elevation and how stunning the mountains were!

Where To Stay: We recommend looking in Georgetown if you want to stay right next to the pass! But for more lodging opportunities, Denver is only an hour away, which is extremely accessible. Some Airbnb recommendations include: The Lodge at Georgetown, Mountain Ski Retreat in Georgetown, and this epic Castle in Denver!

Hikes: Loveland Pass Lake is a great and easy elopement location. If you’re looking for something more challenging, Mount Sniktau is almost 8 miles roundtrip with over 3,000 feet of elevation gain.

Things To Know: Regardless of how big or small your elopement is, you will need a permit for Loveland Pass! It’s important to contact Clear Creek Ranger District about your small wedding plans in order to get the necessary permit and updated regulations. We always help with this!

2. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

Black Canyon of the Gunnison is an extremely steep canyon that leads down to the Colorado River. It became a national park in 1999, and has the highest cliff in Colorado, known as the Painted Wall (you can see it in the top right corner of the image on the right). There are lots of fun things to do in Black Canyon of the Gunnison, but the National Park Service makes it abundantly clear that this canyon can be very dangerous! It’s important to stay at least 6 feet away from any edges, and keep your dog on a leash at all times.

Where To Stay: The closest town is Montrose, which has a lot of small apartments and guest houses on Airbnb, like this 2-Loft Tiny Home or this Pet-Friendly Cabin. There are also plenty of camping opportunities in and around the park. You can check out the South Rim Campground inside the park, or stay outside the park at a designated campground like Gerken’s Organics Farm.

Hikes: Some great short hikes and elopement locations within this park include Exclamation Point, Gunnison Point, and the Painted Wall. There are also several awesome locations outside of the park such as Crawford Notch State Park, Needle Rock Natural Area, and Silver Jack Reservoir.

Things To Know: This canyon is a lot less popular than Canyonlands National Park in Utah and Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. So, if you want insane canyon views with exposed rock faces AND few people, this is a great place to explore! We went in October of 2023, and there were barely any visitors in the park during the day.

3. Buena Vista + Salida

Buena Vista (also known as BV by locals) is a small town located about 2 hours southwest of Denver. It’s a cute little mountain town that’s known for its beautiful views of the Collegiate Peaks and all of the awesome outdoor activities that you can do! The community is amazing, and it’s such a fun place to be in the fall! There’s truly so much to do from dog-sledding and skiing in the winter to enjoying music festivals, hiking, and rock climbing in the summer. The Arkansas River is also a great spot for fishing and rafting! We recommend checking out the Arkansas River Walk Trail that crosses the river in a couple of different locations.

When we first visited BV, we couldn’t believe how much we loved it! Our first night there, we scouted out Twin Lakes and Independence Pass (for an elopement we were documenting), and finished the night at a nice BLM campground. We spent a lot of our trip eating good food, exploring all of the local trails and mountain passes, and hanging out down by the Arkansas River. It’s definitely a Colorado town that we’ll be visiting again in the future.

Where To Stay: If you’re looking for an awesome hotel, definitely check out this boutique hotel: Surf Hotel. This is where one of our couples stayed for their elopement, and it was so gorgeous! If you’re looking to camp, we loved exploring Weller Campground on the other side of Independence Pass. The trees were absolutely incredible in the fall! There are also a ton of cute Airbnb options, and plenty of dispersed camping on BLM land.

Hikes: When visiting Buena Vista, you have to check out Twin Lakes! Twin Lakes is a historic town that’s situated at the base of Colorado’s highest peak: Mt. Elbert. There’s also, you guessed it, two lakes! Both lakes were formed by glaciers, and are great spots for fishing, swimming, biking, hiking, etc. Independence Pass is along the same highway, just past Twin Lakes. There are several hiking trails along the way, and at the top of the pass!

Besides Twin Lakes and Independence Pass, we recommend exploring Cottonwood Pass, Cottonwood Lake, or Collegiate Peaks Scenic Overlook. You might also consider hiking one of the nine 14ers (aka 14,000 foot mountain peaks) that are within an hour drive of Buena Vista!

Things To Know: This is a pretty popular destination for adventurers, so expect crowds! You’ll want to a weekday elopement if you want a bit more privacy. But in terms of awesome locations, Buena Vista is the perfect spot for an adventure elopement or micro wedding! Plus, BV has some great food. There are plenty of good restaurants, but our favorite local spots were the food trucks!! We went to Gyro Vista, and it was delicious. Highly recommend!

4. Telluride

Telluride might just be our favorite spot in Colorado! It’s a former mining town located in the Rockies, and the southwest corner of Colorado state. Telluride is an incredibly gorgeous destination with an epic ski resort, and outstanding mountain trails! The town itself is quite literally surrounded by 13,000 and 14,000-foot mountain peaks. Nearby, you can explore Uncompahgre National Forest and the San Juan National Forest.

Where To Stay: There are a lot of hotels and lodges in Telluride. You can stay at the Mountain Lodge Telluride if you want to be close to the ski resort, or rent a cute Airbnb, like this Architectural Masterpiece Stay or Fox Farm Lodge (super luxurious-looking chalet).

Hikes: You truly cannot go wrong with any of the trails in and around Telluride. Whether you’re doing a short river walk or a difficult mountain hike, you’re going to be rewarded with incredible views the entire time! Some of the best trails are those that are well-known, such as Bridal Veil Falls, Hope Lake, and Sneffels Highline Trail. We’ve done some location scouting in the area, though, and have a handful of lesser known trails that we love recommending to our eloping couples! So, if you’re thinking about getting married in Telluride, reach out to us, and we can help you pick an epic location for your Colorado wedding!

Things To Know: Telluride is a bit more remote than some of the other locations we’ve recommended. You’re about 6 hours from Denver and 2 hours from the southern Utah border. When traveling here, expect to spend more time driving, and more money on the overall adventure. If you want to keep your wedding budget-friendly, but LOVE Telluride, we recommend eloping just the two of you, and considering camping or glamping to save travel costs.

5. Mesa Verde National Park

Finally, we have Mesa Verde National Park, the perfect destination for couples who love nature and history! This is a great spot if you’re looking for desert elopement vibes, such as red rock formations, orange sand, and cacti. Another awesome spot near the national park is called Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, a great place to see more red rock formations and caves. While we haven’t been to this park before, it’s definitely on our list!

Where To Stay: The nearest town is Cortez, Colorado. It’s about 45 minutes west of Durango, and 7 hours southwest of Denver. If you want to stay inside the park, stay at Far View Lodge!

Hikes: For some awesome hiking and scenic attractions inside and around Mesa Verde, we recommend exploring Hawkins Preserve, Sand Canyon + Rock Creek Trails, and Point Lookout Trail.

Things To Know: Wedding permits cost $100, and the overlooks within the park are best suited for small elopements with little to no guests! But there are also some awesome locations outside the park that don’t require permits.

Bonus Location: Yankee Boy Basin in Ouray!

Okay, there’s no way that we could leave out this incredible western Colorado elopement location! This alpine basin is located in the San Juan Mountains, protected by the Uncompahgre National Forest. It’s less than 40 minutes from the town of Ouray, and almost 2 hours from Telluride. This stunning location is known for its spring wildflower bloom, Twin Falls on Sneffels Creek, and for the awesome OHV opportunities.

We loved exploring Yankee Boy Basin last October. The fall colors were out of this world! And the mountains were just starting to get snow. It was the perfect location for this awesome engagement session (see the above two images) that we captured the day before their off-roading elopement.

You won’t need a high clearance vehicle to explore this area until you get to the Governor Basin Rd/Yankee Boy intersection. On onX Off-Road, this trail is rated as a 4/10, but we found that there were a lot of difficult sections the further up you got. Our Toyota Sequoia couldn’t make it all the way to the top, but our couple had an outfitted Lexus that made it! It’s totally do-able, and super awesome, but you’ll need a lift and some good tires to complete the route.

Book Your Colorado Elopement Today!

Excited to start planning your Colorado elopement or micro-wedding? We’re here to help you! Reach out to us today, and we’ll start chatting about package prices, epic locations, the best time of year, etc. We’re basically like your one-stop-shop for an epic Colorado adventure wedding!